Asheville GoTopless rally set for Aug. 26

Organizers have announced that, once again, Asheville will be the site of a “GoTopless” rally . The event takes place on Aug. 26, which is also national Women’s Equality Day.

It is legal for women to appear in public bare-chested in North Carolina, and organizers are encouraging women to exercise that right during the planned event, which will likely include a march and speeches. The rally advocates for women across the country to have the same rights as men when it comes to what parts of their bodies can be exposed in public, say organizers. At this writing, Asheville is by far the smallest city scheduled for a rally; other sites include Washington D.C., New York and San Francisco.

A similar event last year drew big crowds and much controversy. In response, former Asheville City Council member Carl Mumpower and former Buncombe County Republican Party Chair Chad Nesbitt organized a counter “Asheville Rally to Protect Our Children From Abuse.” Organizers of that event charged that allowing children to be exposed topless women was akin to child abuse.

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4 thoughts on “Asheville GoTopless rally set for Aug. 26”

Just got back from the Rainbow Gathering in the Cherokee Natl. Forest. The Forest Service is issuing tickets to women for going topless in the middle of the forest, but it’s perfectly legal in downtown Asheville.

Im all for the right to go topless and trying to change people’s minds. However it seems to me that a protest/rally is usually used to change or open a person’s mind to your viewpoint so that the law can be changed accordingly. Since the law already states a woman can go topless, then IMO a better way to get people to the point where it’s not a big deal to see a woman topless, would be to go about topless on a daily basis. A rally, at this point, seems like just an excuse to get together with likeminded people to cause a scene or for support to do something you are too ashamed or afraid to do all on your own.

As I said earlier, up in the Cherokee Natl. Forest, women were getting tickets for going around topless in the middle of the woods, surrounded only by people who wanted to be there, miles from ‘civilization’. One of them apparently argued that they shouldn’t be cited because they were far from “PUBLIC” view, and who were they offending? The Federal officer writing her the ticket reportedly said, “Hey, I’m a member of the Public, and I’m offended, so here’s your $150 fine.”

And the only “indecent” thing about this is how extreme the reaction is from some – calling a woman baring her breasts an “attack”, for God’s sake? This is absurd. Get over it.